When a system experiences a fault or failure, diagnostic tests can be performed to identify or isolate the fault (e.g., the source of the fault and/or other details regarding the fault). In many systems more than one test can be done to identify or isolate the fault. The tests that are performed to identify or isolate a particular fault condition, and the order in which they are performed, is either random or at the discretion of testing personnel. One drawback of this approach is that it can be an inefficient and time-consuming endeavor particularly as the number of different tests that can be used to attempt to identify or isolate the fault increases. The capabilities of the different tests to identify or isolate the fault can vary. Not all tests are equal in their capability to identify or isolate a particular fault condition.
There is a need for methods, systems and apparatus that can be used to determine which tests are most effective in identifying or isolating a particular fault condition.
It would be desirable to provide improved methods, systems and apparatus for ranking tests used to identify or isolate faults in a system. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.